Right to Repair is a rapidly growing movement in the tech industry that is attracting attention from law makers around the world. Right to Repair is a simple concept, consumers should have the right to be able to repair their own devices, without taking it exclusively to the relevant manufacturer and helping to prolong the life of the device. Historically, when looking at old iPods, DVD players, radios etc. you could just take these devices to any small electronics repair shops and get them fixed for a relatively small fee and continue to use the device however long it lasts.
However, in the past decade or two, companies have made it increasingly difficult or almost impossible to repair a device by yourself, which means majority of consumers buy a new device or, must go exclusively to manufacturer authorized stores and pay significant amounts for repairs. Apple is notorious for refusing to share any specification or information for repairability of their devices, while the way in which the parts are put together almost intentionally make it impossible to repair by a third party. Many other companies now also follow the similar tactics. This gives power of repairing to the manufacturer only who can drive up the prices, making customers more likely to buy a brand-new device rather than repairing their old ones. New York Times said that companies argue that this is because of “security risks from giving criminals access to technical information, safety risks from unauthorized repair, and risks to intellectual property.”. Federal Trade Commission in US ruled majority of these arguments as flawed and don’t have direct implications on repairability except for intellectual property rights, which still does not justify the amount of repair restrictions normally imposed.
This ultimately also hurts independent repair shops, who have become much mor rare and resort to illegally obtained device prints and parts to be able provide repairing services. Louis Rossman one of the faces of right to repair movement is an independent repair shop owner and youtuber who has gone to different state hearings on right to repair to make law makers aware how companies actively make it impossible to repair the devices. He spoke about how Microsoft, Sony, Apple and other big tech manufacturers actively lobby against the right to repair movements as this may affect their sales. Another popular website ifixit.com explained how it took a lawsuit before Apple even started offering battery replacement, something which should not be difficult to do. They also mentioned that “it’s common practice to refuse to make parts, tools, and repair information available to consumers and small repair shops. Apple even created a special screw specifically to make it hard to repair the iPhone.”.
Apple has recently boasted how they are pushing towards making their devices more sustainable through their so-called recycling programs and even removing charging bricks from phone boxes. While this may sound nice, I believe it does very little in reducing their impact on environment and is rather just for greenwashing purposes. If apple and other manufacturers really cared about the environment it would be much more effective by allowing easier repairability and sharing information on repairs to their devices, as this would meaningfully reduce e-waste and make it easier for consumers to use their devices for longer, instead of buying new device as soon as old one has a problem.
There’s now also a growing movement for right to repair of consumer electronics in EU particularly also due to the environmental concerns. Repair.eu states that 53 million tons of e-waste is produced every year, of which only 15-20% is recycled. Being able to freely repair devices at will is fundamental right of every consumer, and one of the ways the world can be more sustainable is through using their devices longer and reducing the amount of e-waste produced around the world.
Ultimately, I strongly believe that the devices you purchase are yours, and you should be able to repair it if you want to and the manufacturer should not have much say in it
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Dear Sai,
Thank you for your insights. This is a topic of which I am frustrated about for quite a few years. Companies have indeed made it way more difficult to repair their items. This gives them the benefit in two ways indeed. Or you have to go to the company itself for repair. This is cray expensive and profits them quite a bit. Or you are triggered to buy a brand new item. I experienced this two times recently. First I had a problem with my keyboard on my laptop (the “V” did not work), I went to a repair shop, where they immediately said that they would have to send my laptop to the factory, this had a base price of 80 euro’s, which is unheard for such a small problem. Another time I had problems with my smartphone and when I went to the repair shop, they immediately said the same: we would need to sent it to the factory, having a base price of 180 euros. Especially if your device is a little bit older, this is not viable. In the smartphone industry, this has become apparent with Samsung and Apple gluing the back of the phone shut, so battery replacements are difficult and can not be done by individuals themselves. However, nowadays it is spreading towards other industries as well, with tesla as a prime example. If you want to further your knowledge on this, there are a lot of cases and YouTube videos about this such as: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVSw3KSevEc.
Another force that has been happening along side this and that I want to stipulate to you is the decreasing life time of products. This is the phenomenon of planned obsolescence. This is a business strategy used by, for example, the same above mentioned producers where the obsolescence of the product is planned and built into the product already in the design phase. Examples of these are software lock-out where older models are no longer supported. This combined with the lack of right to repair puts consumers in a position where they have to buy new products and also lawsuits have been filled and won to counter this.
Kind regards, Ralph
Really interesting article Sai! Tech companies indeed are making it more and more difficult for consumers to repair their own devices or let it be repaired by other independent parties. Next to the economic downside for consumers with higher prices, it is also questionable from a sustainable perspective. When higher prices are paid, consumers will more likely buy a new item, than letting it be repaired. the electronic waste is difficult to manage, due to toxic materials inside the products. In a time where the environment is more and more important people should be offered all rights to repair their personal items, and use them as long as possible. There is a phone now that is environement friendly, and is made for 40% of recycled plastic (Fairphone). Companies should focus more on the design of parts that are environment friendly and easy to replace, but next to that, independent parties should be able to provide spare parts for all electronics. Together, it makes a huge impact on the environment